initial
consultation

Bay
Area IP is happy to help you find answers to any general question you
may have regarding the patent process. We ask that you send your initial
inquiries via e-mail if you have a specific question. However, generally,
a large volume of e-mail's or phone calls does impede us from completing
work for our existing clients. You will generally get the most value
from our communications if, before emailing or calling, you
review the information on our website carefully towards answering your
question(s). Many of your basic questions can be efficiently answered
by searching our website using the search engine on the left toolbar,
and by looking through relevant topics in our
IP Info, and frequently
asked questions (FAQs), sections on our website. Be sure to look
at our FAQ/Help
Guide regarding Initial Consultations. After
getting your basic questions answered through our website, you will
have enough time to ask us more detailed questions, possibly more relevant
to your unique situation.

Bay
Area IP promptly responds to emails regarding the firm’s current lead-time
and ability to accept new clients. Although we make every attempt to
provide FREE information online to answer all your questions about most
common situations, you may have more detailed questions. Due to our
high-volume practice, before contacting us by phone, it is less
burdensome on our workload if you email
us your question(s). Generally, we will respond to your email questions
in a timely manner; however at times, our heavy caseload may delay our
response time somewhat. The vast majority of the time, the combination
of our FREE online information and email response will efficiently answer
your questions. If the combination of our online resources and email
interaction are not efficient towards answering your questions and/or
resolving any concerns, we will setup a time that a Bay Area IP patent
practitioner will be available to call you to quickly resolve your general
questions. If this informational call is less than 10 minutes long,
then there is no charge for our time. Thereafter, if your questions
have not been resolved, then you may want to arrange
an initial consultation in person, by phone, or Internet video with
a Bay Area IP registered patent practitioner who can evaluate your unique
situation in more detail.

Initial
Consultation Cost

The
cost of our initial consultation depends on the category of service
you seek. Our services can be grouped into are two general categories,
each having its respective consultation costs as follows:

Flat-fee
services under $600- 50% off for first one half hour. See/pay
current cost.

Services
billed hourly or over $600- First 15 minutes free, 50% off
next half hour. See/pay current
cost.

A
more detailed description is given below.

For
Flat-fee services in category 1,
our firm strives to balance our competing goals of providing the lowest
possible cost for our flat-fee services while being available to answer
questions. Given that our online resources (such as the IP
info , and FAQ sections of
our website) answer most common question, the vast majority of inventors
interested in our low-cost flat-fee services do not need to contact
us to procure the right service for their goals and situation. Hence,
to maintain our low cost flat-fee services for the majority, we offer
a discount telephone/video initial consultation to the few that find
they need it.

The
special initial consultation offer is for a 50% reduction off our normal
hourly rate for the first one half hour, and our normal hourly rate
thereafter.

For
hourly services in category 2- As
an incentive to learn more about each other or to explore individual
situations before starting a new project, for limited time, a FREE initial
consultation is available, which offer provides the first 15 minutes
free of charge. After the FREE 15 minutes, a 50% reduction off our
normal hourly
rate applies for the next half hour, and our normal hourly rate
thereafter. Introductory conferences beyond the FREE period must
be prepaid

To
take advantage of Bay Area IP’s limited-time special offer for a free,
or reduced cost, initial telephone/video conference please complete
ourConsultation
Request Form. You will get the most out of the consulation if prior
to, or concurrent with, requesting the initial consultation, you
submit to us a completed invention disclosure
form(IDF). However, Please do not email confidential
information unless it is encrypted.
If you are unable to encrypt the file, then send us the IDF including
as much non-confidential information as you can, and we will take it
from there. Of course, generally, the better quality
the IDF, the more likely the consultation will be helpful and productive.
Note, that as a registered patent practitioner, no member of the firm
will disclose or use your confidential
information without your explicit permission.

All
consultation time beyond any free time, must be paid in advance. Pay
online by credit card , or mail your payments to Bay Area IP at
our San Francisco office mailing address with the retainer and your full contact information including your full
name, address, email address, and telephone number. For mail-in payments,
include a note about what the payment is for. Please propose multiple
times (during Pacific Time business hours, and after funds are cashed)
that you would prefer to have the conference call.

Please
review our getting started web page for
an outline on how the process to become a client of our firm typically
proceeds.

Conditions
governing the free Initial Consultation

Please
note that Bay Area IP does not respond to e-mail's or conduct
telephone consultations unless you provide your verifiable full name,
address, telephone number, and e-mail address. Bay Area IP cannot
respond to anonymous inquiries.

FREE
initial consultations for hourly services are:

·Limited to 15 minutes,
and any time beyond the FREE 15 minute period is payable in advance
by credit card, certified check, or money order for expedited service,
or by personal check if time is not critical (consultation available
upon check being cashed).

·Focused on the potential
client’s options and employment of the firm.

·Any FREE consultation
time will usually not cover our flat-fee services noted as category
1 above.

However,
any paid consultation time may cover any subject within the firms purview
as set forth in our service offering.

NOTICE:
Please be advised that all information transactions and/or consultations
between a prospective client and the firm are strictly for informational
purposes and do not constitute any sort of legal relationship. Such
consultations are performed under the ethics guidelines of 37 CFR §
10.31, 10.32, and 10.33 . Until the prospective client and the firm
execute a service agreement, and any required retainer payment is honored,
the prospective client is not a client of the firm. Please do not e-mail
Bay Area IP any confidential information prior to becoming our client.